


The Ransom for the World

by casual_distance



Series: 30 Day Cheesy Tropes Challenge [12]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Arranged Marriage, Bottom Dean, Creature Castiel, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Minor Balthazar, Minor Bobby Singer, Minor Dorothy Baum/Charlie Bradbury, Top Castiel, mentioned past Castiel/Others, minor Benny Lafitte
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 12:57:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4222536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casual_distance/pseuds/casual_distance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are creatures of legend, the Great Boars, so powerful that even the demons that threaten the lives of villagers are of no concern.  The villages that comprise Dean’s people had gathered and appealed to the Great Boars for protection, but the Council had not expected the Great Boars’ condition: a marriage between a Boar and one of the villagers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ransom for the World

**Author's Note:**

> Mild dub-con for the first time Dean and Cas have sex. There’s an instance of Dean disassociating/having a mild panic attack when he first arrives at the Boars’ village.
> 
> The Boars are modeled after [this illustration](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammeronline/images/7/7b/Tuskgor.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20070228033419).

Dean’s world narrows down to the large creature in front of him. It breathes hot, damp air across his body, presses its glistening snout up against Dean’s chest. Its giant blood-stained tusks bracket his waist, making escape impossible, making panic inescapable. His legs tremble, threatening to give out, and Dean reaches without thinking to brace himself against one of those large tusks. The Boar huffs an amused noise and bumps Dean’s chest again. Dean lets go and the Boar withdraws.

Dean’s mother and brother grab an arm each to support him as his legs buckle. The Boar, large and black-furred, walks back to his sounder, approaching the golden-grey Boar that leads them. Their heads turn towards each other, tusks brushing, and then the grey turns its large head to Dean’s father, its white-blind eyes seeing, but John is shaking his head. 

“We can’t. How can one of us marry one of you?”

The Boar steps forward, dipping his head.

“He’s my son,” John whispers.

But it’s Dean. It’s Dean or Dean’s people, Dean’s family. Dean shakes loose of his mother’s hold and says, voice cracking, “Dad.”

John turns, looks at him. Mary is crying with soft, hitching sobs. Sammy is silent, but Dean knows that if he turns, he will see Sam’s face crumpled, his eyes shining with tears.

The sounder turns to leave. The great grey Boar and the black Boar wait. They wait while Dean hugs his family, while he says goodbye. He moves to stand next to the black Boar, next to his _husband_. 

They leave together, the three of them.

 

* * *

 

They are creatures of legend, the Great Boars. They have lived in the forests for centuries. Even the demons that pour down from the mountains, threatening the lives of the people that live in the rolling hills below, are no threat to the Great Boars. They are large, looming beasts with tusks that line their jaws, horns that rise sharp and threatening from the tops of their snouts, between their eyes, along the spine parting the shaggy fur that covers their bodies. At the shoulder, they stand taller than most men- certainly taller than Dean.

The villages that comprised the bulk of Dean’s people had gathered. It had been decided that they would appeal to the Great Boars for protection. They would offer what they needed to in order to assure such protection. They had not expected it would be one of their own.

When the Council had made the offer to the grey Boar, it had only promised consideration. When it had returned, it had been with a small group, a representation of the sounder. The black one had followed the closest to the grey Boar, head forward, steps steady. The others that had come- a red Boar who seemed to glow in the sunlight, a brown Boar with less bulk than the others, another brown Boar who moved with deliberate precision- had drifted lazily behind, exploring the forest as the whim took them. A sandy, slender Boar had also traveled with them, spending his time beside the black Boar or exchanging challenges with the grey Boar.

The Council had not expected the Great Boars’ condition. They only protected those in their family; the villagers had to become part of the Boars’ sounder. 

They had to marry into the sounder in order to gain the protection of the sounder.

 

* * *

 

Dean struggles to keep up with the Boars. They take great loping steps, moving through the forest easily, unhindered by the changes in terrain. He’s never been in the forest as deep as this, where the undergrowth was not trimmed back and paths were not worn down. They reach an incline, and Dean sees the Boars move around him, great hooved feet digging into the dirt, gouging out holds with which they scale the incline. 

Dean tries to make it on his own and ends up sliding back down. He tries to follow behind in the hoof-prints, but they are too far apart, too spread, and he finds himself sliding down again. He’s covered in mud and dirty leaves while shame burns his face. Dean runs his hands through his hair, pulling out leaves and twigs, and grimaces. He looks up to find the black Boar standing next to him at the bottom of the incline. 

It looks at him through giant blue eyes, blinking lazy and tilting its head in consideration. Then it turns, angling its body toward Dean, and goes down to its knees. Dean blinks in confusion. It twists its head around and snorts at him. Dean licks his lips. His hands tremble as he moves toward the Boar. It watches steadily as Dean reaches out and puts a hand against its side. When the Boar doesn’t react, Dean grips the fur. He freezes for a moment, fear overwhelming him, but the Boar just sighs, and suddenly Dean is scaling the Boar’s body, heaving himself onto its back and settling himself in a gap between the spines running down its neck, heart pounding in his ears.

The Boar waits until he is still and then it rises. Dean twists one hand into the shaggy fur on its back and holds onto a horn with the other. The Boar scales the incline and then breaks into a trot. Dean clutches tighter at the horn, fists his fingers into its fur. When they catch up with the rest of the sounder, it slows down again, and Dean relaxes slightly.

Dean rides the rest of the way on the Boar’s back. It lets Dean down when Dean tugs on its fur to indicate his need for a break and waits patiently as the rest of the group moves on without them. The Boar never hurries him, never pushes him, just offers itself as a mount when Dean needs. Dean finds that his fear fades a little each time he climbs up on the Boar’s back.

After three days of travel, they come upon the Boars’ home. They break through a thick line of trees into a clearing where a small collection of homes sit, a small village. A large building dominates the far end of the huddle of homes, large doors open to the clearing and forest. People wander in and out of the hall in groups. Some carry animals, others baskets of supplies. He sees smoke rising from the hall and realizes belatedly that he smells food cooking. Large Boars wander along the edges of the village and down the main street that leads to the hall. Smaller Boars- shoats, Dean guesses- wander through the village, playing games with each other.

The black Boar does not stop in the main huddle of homes, but crosses through to head toward the far side of the clearing. As they move through the village, the people they pass greet the great black Boar with deference. On the other side, Dean sees a smaller collection of homes spread out along the tree line, half in the forest, half out. The Boar heads toward those homes, steps purposeful.

They finally come to a stop before a small hut tucked down against the trunk of a large tree. Dean slides down the Boar’s side when it kneels and looks at the small hut. It’s doorless, and through the opening Dean can see a living area and a small room in the back where a bed of furs and pillows has been made on the floor. Dean turns back to the Boar.

“Is this for me?”

The Boar nods. 

“Um, thanks, I guess.” Dean looks at the hut, then glances over his shoulder where the Boar waits, looking at him. He turns around to face it again. “Uh, listen. I’m not...really sure how this is supposed to work.” 

The Boar tilts its head to the side.

“Well, what I mean is…” Dean lets the sentence drop. He doesn’t know what it means to be husband to something that is not human. In his village he and his spouse would have split the work between them, but he doesn’t know how to care for the Boar- what it eats, _if_ it eats, where it will sleep, how he is to address it. He doesn’t even know what kind of fidelity he is to offer the Boar, or to expect in return.

Dean clears his throat and refocuses. “What I mean is how is this marriage supposed to work exactly?”

The Boar makes a huffing noise and Dean looks up at it, frowning as he realizes that the Boar looks smaller.

As Dean watches, the Boar’s tusks and fur shorten. The bulky muscles in its shoulders and legs thin out causing the Boar to take on a lean, cat-like appearance. Its limbs shorten; its hooves split into fingers. Dean watches, horrified, as the fur separates from the Boar’s body. It does not fall off, bloody and stripped, but hangs from the Boar’s back and shoulders like a cloak. 

Only Dean is not looking at a Boar anymore. Before him stands a man. He is tanned, lean with muscle, dark haired, and blinks at Dean with blue eyes.

Dean’s mouth drops open as the man wraps the furred hide- _his fur?_ \- around his body like a robe. The man tilts his head, and Dean blinks rapidly. 

“Hello, Dean,” the man says, his voice low and rough. “My name is Castiel. I am to be your husband.”

“Oh,” Dean says. “I don’t... I don’t understand.”

The man huffs a small laugh and Dean is painfully reminded of the Boar. He jerks with the realization. Castiel moves past Dean and into the house. “Perhaps we can sit down and discuss your expectations.”

“Uh…” Dean turns around to follow him. “Okay.”

The world seems very far away from Dean suddenly. He sees the Boar sit down at a table that does actually have two chairs now that Dean is inside the hut taking in the interior. Dean looks into the bedroom and realizes that the bed is large enough for two. Dean stares at it, mind blank, vision dark at the edges, until Castiel steps in his line of sight and reaches out to touch Dean gently on his chest.

“Dean, please calm down. We have much to discuss and the situation is not what you seem to be thinking.”

Dean looks down at Castiel’s hand, then up at Castiel’s face. Castiel stares back at him. Dean swallows heavily. He forces himself to focus on his breathing. His father had taught him better than to give into fear, and now of all times, Dean needs to honor his father’s lessons. Slowly, he eases back into himself and his vision lightens again.

Dean doesn’t know how long they stand like that, but Castiel eventually takes his hand away and nods, a satisfied smile curling the corner of his mouth.

“Please, sit with me.” 

Dean does. He runs a hand through his hair. Castiel takes pity on him and speaks before Dean can find the words to the questions he wants to ask.

“Dean, I have no intention of forcing you to do anything you do not want to do; however, there are a few requirements for the protection contract between our peoples to be valid.”

“Like what?” Dean asks, leaning away slightly.

Castiel sighs. “The marriage itself must be valid.”

Dean licks his lips and takes a moment to control his frustration. “And what does that entail?”

“We must cohabitate and copulate at least once.”

Dean blanches. He wants to ask, but he’s also afraid to, so he settles for the safe question. “What’s involved in us cohabitating?”

“We must live together. I would recommend we take our rest together. My sounder will know who you are, but as Gabriel is our leader, we often have visiting sounders. It protects you to smell like me regardless of the nature of our relationship.”

Dean considers. He looks at the bedroom again. The bed is large, large enough that Dean would not feel crowded, hopefully large enough that Dean won’t feel uncomfortable. He nods. 

“Okay. Uh. That’s fine. We can share the bed.” Dean continues staring into the bedroom, waiting for Castiel to explain the rest of their marriage. When he doesn’t, Dean swallows hard and forces the words out of his mouth. “What about- what about the sex?”

Castiel makes a considering noise. “We have a month to finalize the marriage.”

He says nothing else and Dean finally looks at him. “And then what?”

Castiel frowns. “And then we are married.”

“You aren’t- we don’t have to-” Dean pauses, gathers his thoughts. “Just the once?” he asks.

Castiel nods.

“Okay. Okay. I can do that. I just, uh, I just need some time.” 

Castiel smiles at him. “Of course, Dean. As I said, we have a month, and I wish you to be as comfortable as possible given the circumstances.” Castiel stands. “Are you hungry? The sounder will be eating shortly and you are welcome to join us.”

Dean swallows through his tight throat and nods. He stands and follows Castiel from the- from their hut and into his new life.

 

* * *

 

The next two weeks are easier than Dean thought they would be, at least in some ways. Castiel is kind. He doesn’t touch Dean, and he respects Dean’s moods. He shares his knowledge with Dean, and soon Dean understands the way the sounder works and what will be expected of him after the celebration month, as Castiel refers to it, of their marriage has passed.

In other ways, it’s just as hard as Dean imagined. He misses his family fiercely and finds himself preferring to be alone. While Castiel respects his wishes, others in the sounder seem to take offense at his disinterest. Castiel defends him to the sounder; Dean hears him using their marriage month as an excuse for his behavior. Dean knows he will have to be better, but it pains him to think of never seeing his mother and father or Sammy again.

Dean decides after two weeks that he just wants to get it over with. Before bed, he strips himself and waits for Castiel to join him. When Castiel enters the room and finds Dean sitting in bed, the furs pulled tight around his shoulders, he sighs and sits down on his side of the bed without changing.

“Dean.”

“Look, Castiel, I just think we just… need to…” He trails off and swallows.

Castiel reaches out to touch his face. Dean flinches. Castiel nods and pulls his hand back. “If you really want to, Dean, we will, but I believe it would be best if you told me what it is you fear.”

“Nothing. Let’s just do this.” Dean shoves the furs off, but Castiel frowns at him and studies his face.

Dean stares back, feeling the heat of embarrassment crawl up his neck, across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. He breaks first and turns away, tugging the furs back over his body. He scowls at the far wall. Castiel sighs.

“Dean.”

Dean rubs a hand across his face. “I’m not afraid. I’m not!” Dean rebuts when Castiel gives an impatient huff. “I just never- I’ve never been with a guy.”

Castiel tilts his head. “I’ve never been with a human, so I suppose we are evenly matched.”

“Oh.” Dean turns to Castiel and studies him for a moment. “So why did you agree to marry me if you didn’t even know if you’d like me?”

Castiel shrugs. “Gabriel asked me to.” Castiel hesitates. “And I was attracted to you. I was pleased you agreed to come with me, but not surprised you were willing to sacrifice your comfort for your people’s.”

Dean’s eyebrows shoot up in disbelief. “You were _attracted_ to me?” he asks.

Castiel turns away from Dean, resting his back against the wall that serves as their headboard. “You have a very bright soul. It calls to me.”

Dean blinks. Then blinks again. “I don’t- What does- What?”

Castiel looks at him from the corner of his eye, smirking, but he doesn’t elaborate. After a moment of silence, Castiel turns to face him, sitting up and looking at him intently. “What do humans do when they are interested in initiating physical pleasures with a partner?”

“Uh...well-” Dean stops to think. “They spend time together. Get to know each other. If they like each other, they kiss, hold hands. Um… from there, depends. Some people like to go slow, start with their, uh, hands or mouths. Others just jump right in. Depends on what you want out of it.”

“Hands? Mouths?” Castiel asks, frowning.

“Uh, yeah.” Dean mocks masturbation, but Castiel only squints at the gesture. “Wait, when you said you’ve never been with a human, you meant _as_ a human.”

Castiel frowns. “Yes. Most Boars do not transform. It’s a genetic trait to a specific lineage.”

Dean raises his eyebrows. “Like royalty?”

“I suppose that would be apt.”

“Wow. Damn. You mean I married into the royal Boar family?” Dean asks with a grin.

Castiel shoots him an amused look.

Dean snorts in laughter before he lapses into silence.

“So you’ve been with other Boars,” he says after a moment of consideration.

Castiel hums. “Yes. You met my daughter, Claire, earlier this week, and my son Samandriel is out on a hunt right now. My other children have long since moved on to join other sounders.”

Dean gapes at Castiel. “Claire was your daughter? You have children?”

Castiel smiles at Dean, amused with him once again. “Monogamy is not an inherent trait amongst Boars, Dean. Marriage is also purely a human convention. We adopted marriage, and monogamy to our human partners, once humans began appealing to us for protection.”

“That’s not what I was getting at,” Dean protests with a frown. “I’m not exactly a virgin myself, you know.” Dean’s brow furrows with a thought. “I don’t need to be a virgin, do I?”

Castiel laughs. “No, Dean. It would hardly be worth our while to require that.”

Dean ducks his head, smiling to himself. Castiel lets him sit for a moment, and then stands up. “Get dressed for bed. I will return shortly.”

Castiel leaves to give Dean privacy, and Dean pulls on his night clothes and climbs back into the bed, rolling over on to his side. When Castiel returns he slides under the furs, closer to Dean than he ever has before. 

“Dean, would it be alright if I touched you?”

“Uh… I suppose.”

Dean tenses, but Castiel only sets a hand on his shoulder. After a long moment, when Dean’s body finally relaxes, Castiel slides his hand to Dean’s waist. Dean tenses again, and Castiel waits again. When Dean relaxes, Castiel settles in behind him, body pressed lightly against Dean’s. Dean tenses, but immediately relaxes when he realizes that Castiel is not excited and does not move to press closer to him. Dean sighs and closes his eyes.

“I suggest that we do this as you would if I were a human you were interested in,” Castiel says quietly. “We should get comfortable touching each other. We have a few weeks still, Dean, and it would be easiest for us both if you were not so afraid of me.” Dean starts to protest, but Castiel shushes him. “Now, if you will, please tell me why you have been so withdrawn. Is it because of this?” 

Castiel moves his hand against Dean’s stomach. Dean catches it and presses it flat. He sighs again.

“No. No, I just-” The loneliness wells up in him and Dean struggles to control it, eyes burning. “I just miss my family.”

Castiel makes a noise against his neck. “Why have you not said anything? We could have gone to visit them.”

Dean sits up and spins around to face Castiel, staring open-mouthed in disbelief. “That- that’s okay?”

Castiel blinks up at him. “Of course it is, Dean. You are not a prisoner here.” Castiel frowns at him. “Why would you believe that I would not let you visit your family?”

Dean looks away and shrugs. “I, uh, don’t know. I just…” Dean trails off. “I really don’t know.” Relief wells up in Dean and he finds himself laughing. The grief of the past few weeks falls away. Dean presses a hand over his face. “Damn, man. You have no idea how happy that makes me. Can we go tomorrow?” He looks over at Castiel hopefully, but Castiel gives him a rueful smile.

“Ah, not tomorrow, no. Gabriel is requiring my presence two days from now, and we will need more time than that for a visit. If it is just you and I travelling, we will need a day to get there and a day to get back, plus whatever time you would like to stay for.” Castiel reaches out and touches his arm. “But we may go after my meeting with Gabriel.”

Dean laughs again. The urge to hug Castiel wells in him. He hesitates for a moment, then gives in. They are supposed to be touching each other, he reasons. He ducks down under their now-shared furs and wraps his arms around Castiel’s waist, pressing his face into Castiel’s chest. “Thanks, Cas.”

Castiel hums under his breath and hugs Dean back. After a moment, Dean rolls away, settling on his back with his head resting on Castiel’s arm. Castiel’s hand rests on his stomach again, and though it makes Dean nervous, he forces himself to leave it. Dean stares up in the darkness, thinking about being able to see his mom and dad again, to see _Sammy_ again. After a while, Cas’s arm relaxes, weighing against Dean’s side, and his fingers start twitching against Dean’s stomach. Dean looks over to find Cas asleep, mouth open slightly, breathing deeply. Dean smiles at him and closes his own eyes to let sleep take him too.

He wakes once in the night to find that Cas has pulled his arm out from under Dean’s head and has pressed his forehead against Dean’s shoulder, his arm flung fully across Dean’s stomach. Dean rolls onto his side, and Cas pulls him into his body with an annoyed grunt. He rubs his face against Dean’s back for a brief moment and then falls back asleep. Dean closes his eyes and does the same. He wakes in the morning still being held.

His mood buoyed by the knowledge that he can visit his family, Dean finds it easy to fall into the habit of touching Castiel, growing used to it faster than he had anticipated, as if he needed to know he could view Cas as a friend before he could accept his role as spouse. Now that he does, Dean finds himself lying awake the night Cas is away with Gabriel. He’s excited to be going to see his family, but he also rolls over and realizes he’s reaching out to search for Cas. After the third time, Dean lays facing Cas’s side of the bed and stares into the darkness, chewing on his lip as his mind shifts between a wistful loneliness and eager anticipation.

Cas comes in late, moving silently through the dark room, undressing and sliding into the furs. Dean reaches for him before he’s settled, and Cas chuckles softly as he catches Dean’s outstretched hands and pulls Dean to himself.

Cas presses a quick kiss to Dean’s lips, leaving Dean gaping. He tucks Dean’s head down onto his shoulder and rumbles, “Good night, Dean,” before falling asleep. Dean tilts his head up and stares at Cas. He expects to stay awake longer than he does, but Cas’s presence and the warmth of his body pull Dean into sleep with ease.

 

* * *

 

Riding on Cas’s back this time is a different experience. The lazy meander of the sounder has been abandoned for Cas’s quick-moving gate, and his long stride eats ground easily. Dean presses himself down flat against Cas’s back to protect himself from the bite of the wind. Fear gone, Dean is amazed at the grace such a large creature is able to navigate with. He watches the forest fly by and feels the shift of Cas’s muscles under his body. 

Huddled in Cas’s fur, Dean realizes that Cas smells cleaner than he would have expected of an animal. There’s an earthy smell, something warm and dark that makes Dean think of being wrapped up in furs with Cas’s heat at his back. Dean closes his eyes to inhale it deeply, and then forces the breath out sharply in embarrassment. Dean sits up a little higher on Cas’s back and clings to a horn, ignoring the knot of emotion in his chest.

They arrive at Dean’s village late in the evening just as the sun is setting. The Boar assigned to the village comes to greet Cas, and the two lock horns briefly in a mock-fight. Dean makes a note to ask Cas who this is and climbs down from Cas’s back when he kneels. Villagers have started gathering around Dean and Cas, but they part when Sam comes running through, shouting Dean’s name.

Dean catches his brother in a strong hug, nearly toppling over when Sam barrels into him. Dean looks up in time to catch his mother as she, too, flings herself at him. She wraps her arms around his neck and squeezes until he has to beg to breathe.

She laughs, pulling away. “Oh, Dean. I didn’t think we’d see you again.” She cups his face with her hands and smiles warmly at him through her tears.

“That is my fault,” Cas interrupts. “I am only now learning how little Gabriel shared about what the marriage would entail. It was never my intent to make you or Dean feel as if he must be separated from you.”

Mary stares at Cas until Dean clears his throat. “Mom, this is Castiel.” When she frowns at him, Dean clarifies, “My husband.”

“Oh, but I thought…” She trails off frowning.

“He can change back and forth. Apparently Cas is, like, the prince of the Boars.”

“Does that mean you’re the Boar princess?” Sam asks, grinning widely.

Dean scoffs and wraps his arm around Sam’s neck, squeezing playfully. “I’ll princess you!”

“Boys,” Mary chides as Cas watches with a confused frown. Mary reaches out to Cas, wrapping her arm around his shoulders and guiding him away from Dean and Sam. “Let’s head home. Dean’s father will be happy to see him, and dinner is almost ready. Castiel, will you please join us?”

Dean follows after them, pleased as Cas nods his acquiescence and begins asking Mary about the village and if Uriel’s presence has kept them safe. When Mary tells Cas that it has, Dean feels a knot of tension ease from his stomach, relieved that his choice has made a difference.

Dinner is an easy affair, though John sends Cas narrow-eyed glances throughout. After dinner, Cas leaves Dean with his family and goes to join Uriel as he scouts the area.

They stay seated at the table for a quiet moment, and then John leans toward Dean and asks, voice low and serious, “Are you alright, Dean?”

“Yeah, Dad. I’m good.”

“Is he treating you right? He’s not…” John trails off and Dean fights back the heat of a blush when he realizes what his dad is asking.

“Cas is a good guy, Dad. He’s been teaching me mostly the last few weeks.”

John stares at Dean for a moment, searching his face, and then settles back in his seat with a nod. 

“How long are you staying?” Mary asks.

Dean shrugs. “A few days. Cas has got responsibilities. He said I can visit again, though.”

“Is it really okay?” she asks.

“Apparently. He was surprised I had not asked to visit when he found out how much I missed you guys.”

Mary relaxes at that, reaching out to take Dean’s hand in her own.

“Are you okay with this, Dean? With staying with him?” she asks.

Dean nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Cas isn’t- he’s a good guy. And getting to see you guys, it’ll be okay.” He smiles, though he knows it’s not quite as honest as he intends. Mary squeezes his hand and John nods.

The rest of the evening is spent in quiet conversation. Dean wakes late in the night when Cas comes into his room and slides into bed behind him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Dean sighs and presses back into him, turning to kiss Cas on the cheek. He barely registers Cas’s startled glance as he mutters thanks into his pillow before falling back to sleep.

Cas takes his meals with them and assists John when he asks for help, but otherwise leaves Dean for the next couple of days to spend time with his family. He slips into Dean’s bed late in the night and is gone early in the morning, and Dean begins to miss the long nights spent wrapped up in furs with Cas. 

He’s not relieved, exactly, when their visit is over, but the visit has eased a knot of worry in his gut, makes him believe when Cas says they can come back, that he is not separated from his family forever. Cas promises they will visit before the end of the next month, and Dean hugs everyone goodbye. The heavy fear and sense of loss from their last goodbye is gone, and Dean finds it easier to climb atop Cas and settle in for the day’s journey back.

That evening, at home, in their own bed, Dean turns around to face Cas. Cas’s eyes are closed, but he is awake, his hand stroking Dean’s side. When Dean doesn’t cuddle into Cas’s chest or burrow beneath the covers, Cas opens his eyes and looks up at Dean.

Dean catches his gaze and holds it until Cas cocks his head and makes a questioning noise. Dean shifts closer and presses his mouth to Cas’s. Cas’s hand leaves his side and settles onto the back of his head. For a few moments, the kiss is close-mouthed, and then Dean parts his lips. When Cas sighs into the kiss, Dean deepens it. He wraps his arms around Cas and rolls them so the weight of Cas’s body is over his.

“Are you sure?” Cas asks between kisses even as Dean spreads his legs and lets Cas settle his body into place. Dean only nods and pulls Cas closer.

It’s not what Dean expected. It’s a little painful and a lot messy, but Cas is just as beautiful and kind and patient as he is in everything, and it’s good enough he wants to do it again. Afterwards, curled into Cas’s side, listening as Cas’s breathing evens out, Dean thinks maybe he could have a life here even if it was not the one he had anticipated.

The last week of their celebration month goes quickly and Dean starts his service to the sounder. Dean does not know how he wants to serve so he is able to rotate through the jobs. He spends a long, painful month farming and gardening. Then he switches to child tending. He’s better with the older kids, and he enjoys working with them for a few months before he grows bored, missing the activity that had come with hunting food for his family and village. He considers switching again, but hesitates.

Cas returns to his own service, working as a soldier, fighting demons and traveling to protect local villages. Dean watches him leave in the morning and return days later, bloodied and occasionally wounded. Cas visits the sounder’s healer, but Dean always checks the wound when they are in bed that evening. Cas watches him through half closed eyes, reaching out to touch the tips of his fingers to Dean’s cheek. Dean’s face heats with embarrassment, but it doesn’t stop him from catching Cas’s hand, from pressing a kiss to his fingers in return, from taking Cas into his body or his mouth and bringing them both to completion.

Eventually Dean wearies of his boredom, of the days and weeks of separation from his husband. When Dean realizes that he is thinking of Cas as his husband, not just in name, but in spirit, Dean uses his next day of rest to wander out into the woods surrounding the sounder village. He hunts small game and uses the quiet stillness to consider what he wants to do.

Dean goes to speak with Balthazar, the great sandy Boar that had paced Cas when the sounder had first come to the village and Cas had chosen Dean. Balthazar looks down his nose at Dean for a long time, but eventually he answers Dean’s questions, and Dean decides what he wants to do.

When Cas returns home, he finds, strung up in their kitchen, a collection of small game, skinned and prepped for preservation. Cas stands in the doorway of his and Dean’s home and stares for a long time at them, long enough that Dean comes home after his shift at the school and finds Cas still standing there.

“Why are these here?” Cas asks, moving into the room, reaching out a tentative hand.

“They’re for us,” Dean answers.

Cas looks at him, eyes squinting, nose wrinkled slightly. “Dean…” He trails off, and Dean knows he is afraid to ask.

Dean steps up to him, twists his hands into the fabric of Cas’s tunic, and presses a kiss to Cas’s cheek. “I asked Balthazar,” he says. 

Cas looks at him, eyes wide and hopeful despite the fear.

“I asked Balthazar how I could show you- how courtships are accepted amongst the Boars.” Dean lets go of Cas and turns to look at the game. “He said that you present each other with meals. That to provide a meal for only one of the sounder means you are taking responsibility for their wellbeing.” 

“Dean.” Cas’s voice is thick, heavy. 

Dean turns to him. “I wanted you to understand, Cas. I want… I want to hunt with you.”

Cas’s face closes then. He turns away from Dean and says, voice low, almost angry, “This is not… This is not intended for _partnerships_ , Dean. It’s intended for- for affection.”

Dean steps up behind Cas and wraps his arms around Cas’s waist. Cas doesn’t lean into him, just stands solid and unmoving.

“I know, Cas,” Dean murmurs. He wishes he were better with words. “I know what it means. I wanted _you_ to know- to know-” Dean takes a deep breath. “I wanted you to know what I meant when I said I’m tired of being separated from you. I’m tired of you being gone for weeks, of not seeing you for weeks. 

“I want… I want to go with you when you hunt. I want to be there if you get hurt. I don’t want to sit here and wait for you to come back. To see if you will come back.”

As he speaks, Cas’s body softens. He relaxes against Dean, letting Dean bear his weight. He rests his head back against Dean’s shoulder, his cheek brushing against Dean’s. Dean turns his face into Cas’s, pressing his nose into his cheek.

“I want us to be together,” Dean whispers.

Cas sighs and turns his face toward Dean. He looks at Dean, blue eyes bright and shining. He holds Dean’s gaze for a moment before he tilts his head and kisses Dean.

 

* * *

 

Dean joins the team that hunts for the sounder’s food. He partners with hunters who were once soldiers. Benny was married to a Boar years ago, but she had been killed in a particularly vicious fight. Bobby had left his village to fight with the Boars after his wife had been killed by a demon. The two of them teach Dean how to fight, show him the best weapons, demonstrate techniques, share their stories. He learns from them for a year. 

For the next year Dean and Cas train together, running through exercises, working with younger Boars who are also training. They learn to flow together, working off each other’s strengths. It burns through Dean, the way it feels to move in concert with Cas. It thrills Cas, too. Even in his Boar form, the way Cas looks at him after a training session sends a wave of heat through Dean. When Cas takes him at night, it is hard and heavy in a way it has never been before. 

The first time they defeat a demon together, Cas takes him in the forest in front of the others, pressing Dean’s body into the ground with an urgency Dean echoes. Riding back, stretched across Cas’s neck, face buried in his fur, limbs loose and relaxed, Dean realizes that Cas has wanted this- has wanted Dean to be his equal, to fight with him. 

Dean digs his hands into Cas’s fur, presses his face against Cas, feels the movement of his muscles. He remembers the first time he rode on Cas, on the journey nearly three years ago away from his home for what he had thought was the final time. He remembers the dread that had sunk in him, the feeling of loss. He remembers how quickly it had changed.

It took him a month to accept Cas as his husband in name, a year to accept him as his husband in spirit. Dean presses himself against Cas’s body and hears a rumble of acknowledgment from Cas, a purring, snorting sound from deep within his chest. 

Dean thinks that he could not want for anything more than this.

 

**Epilogue**

Dean has been married to Cas for nearly ten years when he meets Charlie. She rides in with another sounder, sitting atop a Boar Dean learns is her wife. Cas knows the Boar, and he joins Gabriel to meet with her and her sounder. Cas introduces him to Charlie, and Dean finds her charming and kind. She joins him as he hunts for his and Cas’s dinner, intending to feed him separate from the sounder tonight. She hunts for her wife as well.

“How long have you and Castiel been together?” Charlie asks later that day as they clean their kills in Dean’s home.

Dean thinks. “Almost ten years.”

Charlie smiles at him. “I barely remember meeting Dorothy now,” she says, pausing in her work. “It’s been so long.”

Dean looks over at her, eyebrows raised in surprised. She looks young; younger than him and he hasn’t even reached his thirtieth year. 

“How long have you two been together?”

Charlie works as she thinks. “I’ve lost count, exactly, though Dorothy could probably tell you, but it’s somewhere around 300 years, I believe.”

Dean drops his knife. “What?”

Charlie looks over at him and gives him a questioning look. 

“How is that possible? I thought you were human.”

“I am. I was.” Charlie looks him up and down. She sets her knife down and turns her to face Dean. “The Boars, especially those who can shift, have magic,” Charlie begins to explain. “Dorothy tied my life to hers. As long as she is alive, I’m alive.”

Dean looks away. He considers what Charlie has said while Charlie returns to her work. He realizes he doesn’t know how old Cas is, not with any certainty. He wonders how long Boars live. Age is not something they’ve discussed. _Time_ is not something they have discussed. Dean wonders if that’s on purpose. He thinks about growing old while Cas stays the same. He thinks about not being able to fight any more, about not being able to ride on Cas’s back with ease. 

Then Dean thinks about living with Cas for hundreds of years. He thinks about being able to fight with Cas for as long as possible. He thinks about dying in battle with Cas. Dean closes his eyes and imagines an eternity with Cas.

That night Dean presses Cas into the furs of their bed, bellies full with the meals they’d prepared for each other, bodies sated in the aftermath of a shared climax. He curls his body around Cas’s and thinks about this moment never ending. He opens his eyes and he looks at Cas. Cas looks back. His eyes are bright and vibrant, clear blue as the fall sky, warm as a summer breeze. Dean leans down to kiss Cas and tells him he wants forever. Cas gives it to him.

**Author's Note:**

> [on tumblr](http://casualstories.tumblr.com/post/122623881243/the-ransom-for-the-world-6-5k)
> 
> The main story is complete, but I have a couple of timestamps I will be writing at some point.


End file.
